Amazonian Bard, Warrior Princess
by mickelus
Summary: Xena and Gabrielle are on their way to visit Xena's mother in Amphipolis when they find an injured boy on the side of the road. What will become of him? Xena has nightmares often, will Gabrielle be able to help her? Will one of them "accidentally" kill Joxer the next time they see him? Read the story to find out.
1. Not Another Greek Mythology

**A/N: **My first attempt at a Xena fandom story. Hope I don't make anyone mad, there will be an OC…cause I kinda like OCs...I promise to keep him from being a "Mary Sue" type character. As far as timeline is concerned this takes place either late season 2 or between season 2 and 3. Haven't decided what to rate it yet for sure, but I'll go with M to be safe…mostly because I like graphic violence and strong language, yes there'll most like be steamy sex scenes as well. You've been warned**.**

** Not Another Greek Mythology**

Gabrielle woke to the sound of someone whimpering in her sleep. Xena was having one of her nightmares again. With practiced ease she slid under the blankets with her friend and wrapped her tightly in her arms. Xena instinctively stiffened, but after some soothing words from Gabrielle she loosened up once more and was soon breathing steadily again as the presence of her red headed friend drove the nightmares away. Gabrielle rested her head gently on the dark haired woman's shoulder, _Oh Xena; I wish I could fight off the demons of your past for good. I guess all I can do is be here to help you, whether you admit to needing the help or not._ She thought to herself before whispering softly in her warrior friend's ear, "Rest now Xena, your safe with me. Your past can't hurt you when I'm here." Xena reacted to Gabrielle's words by snuggling closer to her friend and letting out a contented sigh as she fell back to a relaxed sleep after the chaos of her nightmare.

The next morning Xena woke to find herself in the warm embrace of her friend and traveling companion. She smiled at the feel of Gabrielle's warm breath on the back of her neck as strawberry blonde hair mixed with her own black locks. She placed her hand on the arm that was wrapped around her waist and Gabrielle's grip tightened slightly before she began to awake with a slight groan, "Mmmm, morning Xena." The younger, shorter woman greeted her friend.

"Good morning Gabrielle," Replied the warrior princess.

"You were having another nightmare last night. Do you remember it? Do you wanna talk about it?" Gabrielle asked as she rubbed her hand gently on Xena's smooth, toned stomach.

Xena was quiet for a while and Gabrielle was ready to get up and give up on further conversation on the topic when her friend answered, "It was one of the countless villages my army raided." She said as she rolled onto her back and turned her head to look Gabrielle in the eye as she relayed her dream, "They were a faceless mass, but their screams and cries for mercy were unbearable. I just cut them down as I waded through their spilled blood, laughing the entire time."

Gabrielle placed her hand gently on the former warlord's cheek, "You aren't that woman anymore Xena," She reassured her as she brushed away a lone tear with her thumb, "No matter how long it takes I'm going to make sure you realize that. Yes you've done evil in the past, and I know you'll never be able to forget it and you shouldn't try to forget, but you need to use it as inspiration to not go down that path again. You do need to move on, the good thing you are doing will help with that and furthermore I will be here for you whenever you need me. You're a good person now Xena, miles away from the warlord of your past."

Xena buried her head in Gabrielle's shoulder and sobbed in a display of emotion that, aside from her bardic companion, only her mother had ever seen. "I know Gabrielle. By the gods! I don't know what I would do without you; I probably would've fallen back to my old ways without you here to keep me grounded. You're too good to me Gabrielle. Any good I do, is because of you."

Gabrielle smiled and kissed the top of her friends head, "Well I'm not the same girl I was when we first met either. I mean I was just a storytelling farm girl back then with dreams of becoming a traveling bard, now I'm a bard, an Amazonian princess, friend of centaurs, and, most important to me, friend of Xena. I wish I could take your nightmares away for good, but something tells me that you're actually somewhat thankful for them aren't you?"

"You know me to well." Xena answered with a chuckle, "The nightmares keep me reminded of what I came out of and what I am capable of…plus the fact that when I do have them I get to wake up in the arms of a beautiful woman." She added pulling her head back and wiggling her eyebrows at her friend.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes as she got up from their makeshift bed to get breakfast ready, "So typical of you Xena, thinking with that thing between your legs." She said teasingly.

"Hey you're the one who comes up with excuses to end up in my bed every other night." Xena replied, nudging the redhead with her elbow.

"I don't hear you complaining about it. Anyway what do you want for breakfast? Bacon and potatoes, or potatoes and bacon?"

"Oooh, givin me a tough choice there Gabs…how about bacon with a side of potatoes?" Xena smiled, brightened from the memory of her dreams by her friend's typical happy mood.

"We're getting close to Amphipolis, are we going to stop for a few days and visit your mother?" Gabrielle asked as they were packing up after breakfast.

"I think that would be a good idea, to rest for a few days. Sleep in real beds, if you wanna stop for a while that is…"

"Of course I'm ok with stopping for a few days, if nothing else it gives my time to catch up in writing in my scrolls."

They traveled throughout the day, talking over their past adventures and wondering what the future had in store for them. They stopped briefly for lunch which consisted of fish which Gabrielle caught in a small stream and Xena managed to cook them without burning them, with some guidance from Gabrielle. They set off again playing twenty questions, or as Gabrielle sometimes called it, "Guess The Warlord". It was starting to get darker and as they looked for a spot to make camp.

They continued down the road a bit further and as they came to a clearing they spotted something half covered by the foliage. Xena motioned for Gabrielle to stay next to Argo, her horse, while she drew her sword and cautiously stepped forward to investigate; she got closer to the thing half under the brush and realized it was a human being. It was a young man and when she rolled him onto his back she saw he was clearly still in his adolescence and had a nasty gash across his torso and abdomen. She hissed at the severity of the wound, amazed that the young man was still alive, "Gabrielle, bring the medical supplies! And hurry!"

Gabrielle ran over followed by Argo her breath hitched when she saw the boy and his injury. The duo worked quickly to clean the wound and bandage it, worried about infection they placed a poultice on top of the first layer of bandages to fight off bacteria. "Gabrielle you get a fire started and I'll pack his gear on Argo. In the morning we'll make a litter so we can take him with us to Amphipolis. He'll heal better with proper shelter and a real bed to lay on."

Gabrielle nodded, "Will we get there tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah we should make it before noon. We'll have to watch him in shifts tonight; I want one of us to be ready in case he wakes up. He'll probably be hungry, thirsty, and in pain when he wakes."

"He wears strange clothes…I wonder where he's from? Have you ever seen anything like it Xena?"

"No and his belongings are somewhat strange as well. I can tell what their purpose is like this is obviously a bow of some sort." Said the warrior princess holding up a modern compound bow, "And this must be some sort of war axe."

"But it's so light." Gabrielle commented lifting the solid metal tomahawk by its nylon wrapped handle.

"Let's not worry about all that right now, we need to finish setting up camp and get supper ready."

With the fire going and supper eaten Gabrielle went to check on the boy once more while Xena made a perimeter check. The summer was beginning to give way to autumn and the nights were getting chilly, so Gabrielle lay their extra wool blanket over top of the still unconscious boy. She looked up at Xena when she felt the strong woman's hand on her shoulder, "Do you think he'll be okay? He looks so young." The redhead asked as she leaned against the taller woman.

"I think he'll pull through this just fine. We found him in time and, if I had to guess, I'd say he's around sixteen years old. That's a very hardy age, especially for boys. We've done all we can for him for now."

Gabrielle nodded, "So the rest is up to him and Asclepius. You go ahead and get some sleep, I'll take first watch." Xena opened her mouth to argue, "Don't even try to argue missy; if I let you take first watch, chances are you would stay up all night not even thinking of waking me to relieve you. Now go lay down, I'll wake you in about four hours, I promise."

The next day they set off with the injured boy on the litter being pulled by Argo. They reached Amphipolis well before noon, which was very good as the boy was beginning to return to consciousness. Cyrene greeted them outside the tavern which she owned, "Xena! Gabrielle! It's good to see you both!"

"It's good to see you too mother." Replied Xena, "But I'm afraid we can't talk at the moment. We found this boy along the road; he's healing fine, but needs rest. Can he use Lyceus' room?"

"Yes certainly! I'll be there as soon as I can get someone else to take over for a while."

By the time Cyrene got there Xena and Gabrielle had the boy settled in her youngest, now deceased, son's room. "How is he?" She asked when her daughter stepped out of the room.

"He's hungry and thirsty, Gabrielle is making some broth. He's a bit sore, but the poultice I put on him helps numb the pain. He's coherent and knows who he is and where he came from, but doesn't know how he got to where we found him. He said his name is Jason Grimm. Would you mind staying with him while I take care of Argo?"

"Of course."

Cyrene walked into the room and the boy tensed and turned his head to watch her. "Are you…um…Cyrene?" He asked pausing when he had to recall the name the other woman had told him.

"Yes," She answered, "Xena is my daughter. You were lucky they found you when they did Jason." She continued, extending her hand to him, "It's nice to meet you young man."

"You as well ma'am and thank you for letting me stay in your house."

"Please thing nothing of it, I couldn't very well turn you away, especially since it was my daughter and her friend that found you. You should rest some more, I'll go see how Gabrielle is doing with your broth." She said as she patted the young man's knee before leaving the room.

That night Xena and Gabrielle lay together on the bed in Xena's former room, since the other beds were occupied and neither woman would allow the other to sleep on the floor when the bed was plenty big enough for both of them. "I'm glad Jason's gonna be ok. I was worried for a while." Said the bard.

"I know what you mean Gabby, but I sense a strong will in that boy. It'll take more than some little cut to slow him down for long." Xena said then chuckled a moment later after she had been thinking I silence.

"What's so funny?" Gabrielle asked as she rolled on her side to look at her friend.

"I was just thinking how I'm probably not going to be having any nightmares while we're here in Amphipolis. Not with the protector of my dreams here with me," Xena said before turning onto her side as well, nearly losing her breath at the close proximity of Gabrielle's face to her own.

"That's sweet of you to say," Gabrielle softly said as she caressed Xena's cheek with the back of her hand; wish that the warrior would just kiss her.

Xena wanted so badly to kiss the redhead right then, but somehow controlled herself. They talked for a while longer before drifting to sleep, Gabrielle's head resting on Xena's strong shoulder. That was how Cyrene found them in the morning. She was neither angry, as some would be at that closeness of two people of the same gender, nor was she very surprised. She had suspected how the two women felt for each other. Though she also suspected that even with how they were laying together that neither one fully grasped how she felt for the woman next to her. She smiled and decided to let them sleep a bit longer while she went to check on Jason. She arrived at the room just in time to see him pull himself into a sitting position, right before his face paled in pain and he fell to the floor, crying out in pain. Cyrene rushed to check on him as Xena and Gabrielle ran into the room as well.

"Guess that was a bad idea." Jason said with a pained smile as the women helped him back into the bed, setting him in a sitting position with his back supported by the wall.

"You think!" Gabrielle snapped as she walked to the other side of the bed and poured the teen a glass of water from the bedside pitcher, "Here drink this."

Xena and Cyrene finished checking him over, "Well you're lucky you didn't pull out any of the stitching, you're healing pretty well, but I don't think you'll be up and around yet today."

I'll remember that…thanks." He said after drinking the water. "Did you happen to pick up my gear when you brought me with you?"

"It's all over there." Xena pointed to a corner of the room, "Everything we found with you anyway."

"Thanks." He said again, "So what's for breakfast?"

"His thought process is a lot like yours Xena." Gabrielle said as she rolled her eyes.

By the end of the day Jason had convinced them to help him fashion a couple of crutches so he could move around. "You are healing surprisingly fast." Gabrielle commented that evening.

"Yeah, I guess Brigit gave me a helping hand, that or Morrigan wasn't yet ready to take me." At their confused looks he sighed. "It's kind of a long story…What do you know about Ares?"

"Heartless bastard!" The three women all replied at the same time.

"Ah, I see you've met the man…well I guess I should start by saying, I'm not from around here, which you've probably assumed from how I'm dressed and my gear, but I'm also not from this time." He paused and was a little surprised when they barely reacted to his claim, "Your god of war brought me back through time to complete a task for him. It was easy enough to do along with a promise he would send me back home. However I find out that he can bring me back in time, but for some reason doesn't have the authority to send me home. Only Zeus can, Ares claims he wasn't aware of this issue, but he did set me up to meet with Zeus. Who informed me that the price for my return home is the death of twelve true innocents. Not just virgins, but innocents of mind, body, and soul. Doesn't take a genius translate that so twelve virgins who have never killed and never had an evil thought. That would basically mean twelve young children…I cannot be responsible for that. So in place of sending me home as the price was too high Athena offered to cover the debt that Ares owed me by imbuing me with the knowledge of life and cultures of this time period…so I wouldn't seem a complete fool. However because of Ares mistake I chose to not rely on the Greek gods, instead I hold to the Tuatha de Danan, the Irish deities. Brigit is Athena's counterpart and Morrigan is the goddess of battle, death, and prosperity."

"Well I've heard stranger stories." Said Cyrene.

"Hell we've been part of stranger stories." Added Gabrielle.

Eventually Jason headed to bed and the trio of women remained in the common room catching up on each other's lives.

Several days later Jason had healed almost completely, he had a massive scar and still needed to work at rebuilding his muscles, but the actual healing was over. He was going through his gear after emptying the contents of his external frame backpack onto the bed. First he quickly changed his clothes, putting on fresh jeans and a plain red t-shirt. He placed his knife in its polymer sheath on his belt along with his tomahawk in a similar sheath. He checked his other gear, ensuring his blankets and spare clothes were all still in good shape. Finally he picked up his bow, examining the strings and pulleys before giving it a test draw. Satisfied he placed everything back where it belonged and went out to meet the others at the tavern.

He walked and quickly spotted Xena and Gabrielle near the back. As the boy made his way over to them a man suddenly jerked back from the bar, bumping him. Jason shrugged it off and tried to continue past the obviously intoxicated man, but the drunk was intent on starting something, "Hey! You made me schpill my drenk!" He slurred.

"Yeah sorry about that, but it looks to me like you've had enough already." Jason replied, barely acknowledging the man.

"Well you ssshould buy me another to replace the one you schpilled."

"I would, but first of all I have no money secondly it was you who bumped into me and lastly, and most importantly, I just don't want to"

"Well then I'll just take that nice blade you have on your belt instead then." The man said more clearly, obviously not as drunk as he seemed.

"Let me think about that…um…no. Now get out of my way before I make you, I'm tired you already and you smell like horse dung."

Across the room Xena saw a couple others starting to surround Jason and moved to be in a position to help in a fight broke out.

"Alright man, I see where this is headed. If you want to fight lets go outside where we won't wreck Cyrene's place of business."

"How considerate of you," Replied the man, "Very well let's do it your way."

When they got to the door the man and his friends stepped out first, "Oh, one other thing." Jason said and the man turned to him only to be met by a solid straight kick to his chest, "Always be ready for the first strike."

Jason quickly followed the man as he was forced into the town center by the kick. He was soon joined by Gabrielle and Xena as the brawl ensued, each of them accounting for two or three of the would be thief's friends. The fight was nothing special and the thugs went down easily. Once back inside Jason checked to make sure his wound had not reopened from the exertion. "Are you alright? It didn't reopen did it?" Gabrielle asked slightly worried.

"No I'm fine, muscles are just a bit sore. I'll have to do some extra exercises to rebuild them. I should be back to normal in no time…and you guys have no idea what normal is for me I just realized." Jason answered alleviating the bards worry.

Cyrene walked over to make sure everyone was okay. "Would you like something to drink Jason?" She asked.

"I don't have any local currency…" He started to say.

"Don't even worry, it's on the house." Xena's mom interrupted.

"Well in that case I'll have a glass of juice if you have any."

"Sure I'll have someone bring it right over."

The young man's choice of a nonalcoholic drink piqued Xena's curiosity, "How old are you Jason, if you don't mind me asking?"

"What's today's date?" He asked in return.

Gabrielle squinted her eyes for a second as she added up the days since she last saw a calendar, "Today is August fourteenth." She said finally.

"Well then I guess yesterday I turned sixteen."

"Damn, so you were unconscious and bleeding to death on the side of the road on your birthday? That sucks." Xena commented.

Gabrielle shook her head at Xena's statement of the obvious, "So, what do you plan to do now? Will you try to find another way back to your own time?"

"Whatsa matter Gabrielle tired of me already?" He asked, a fake hurt expression on his face.

"What!?...No I didn't mean like that…I mean if it were me I'd still look for a way to get back…" Neither Xena nor Jason could hide their smirk as Gabrielle scrambled for words, "And you were joking with me weren't you?"

"You shoulda seen your face Gabby. He got you good." Xena said nudging her friends arm playfully.

"In answer to your question, I guess I'll always be hoping to find a way home, but, since that hope is so small now, I plan to try and find a place for myself in this world. Plus I've always wanted to travel and see the rest of the world, so this is probably my best chance at that. I have no responsibilities, no one to tell me I can't and the limitations of where I come from aren't there anymore either. Before you ask let's just say that laws from my time make going from one country to another difficult, plus it's quite expensive."

"Well if you want you can travel with us." Xena offered, much to Gabrielle's shock.


	2. On The Road Again

**A/N:** I'm sorry that it took me so long to get an update posted, but I hope to be a bit more consistent with this story in the future. The problem is that I have four or five other stories I'm working on…so this one kinda got lost in the shuffle. Also this chapter is kinda short, but I wanted to get an update out there.

**On The Road Again**

"What!? Did you get hit in the head during that fight?" Gabrielle asked curiously, "You never wanna have anyone travel with us."

"Well he seems like a nice guy…and this isn't the world that he's familiar with, plus he can't be as bad as Joxer right? Besides aren't you the one always telling me that I need to be a little more accommodating to people?" Xena asked.

"I would be happy to travel with the two of you Xena, that is if it's all right if you Gabrielle? As I said I have nothing tying me down anywhere and I want to see the world and from what I've heard you two travel a lot." Jason said.

"Oh of course I'd be happy to have you travel with us, it just surprised me that Xena was the one to offer. Plus I'm curious to hear to hear more about why Ares brought you back in time." Gabrielle quickly backpedaled.

"I'm sure I could find the time to tell you more of my story. On another note does anyone know where I could find a horse? I don't mind walking but I'd rather ride." Jason asked.

"Well, since you don't have any money, we can probably take one from the next gang of bandits that we come across." Xena answered.

"Are you going to be leaving again soon?" Cyrene asked.

Xena sighed, sad that she would be parting ways with her mother once again, "I'm afraid so ma. We wanna stop by Potidaea before heading up to Brittania to help some former enemies of mine fight off Caesar."

"Well then I'm gonna close down the inn for a few days until you leave." Cyrene said raising her hand to stop Xena's protests, "Don't even start daughter mine. I can afford to close for a short time and my employees deserve a bit of a break anyway."

Over the next few days Jason finished his recovery and even sparred with Xena and Gabrielle a couple times. They were both impressed by his accuracy with his bow and his skill and the versatility with the tomahawk. Xena discovered that in terms of skill and knowledge he was practically her equal in hand to hand combat, however she was faster and stronger than he was and had more practical experience. "Your fighting is good, but I would recommend you get a staff like Gabrielle has, it'll have more reach than that battle axe of yours." Xena said as they were all packing their belongings to get back on the road.

"What about a sword?" Jason asked, "I know you've said that holding a sword makes you a target, but I'm kinda used to that by now. Plus I've tried learning with a staff before…let's just say me and them aren't on very good terms."

Xena was uncertain and looked to Gabrielle who shrugged as if to say it was up to Xena and Jason which, the warrior princess realized, was as close to Gabrielle's consenting they would get, "Fine, but you must do as I say in your training and you're not to use it in a fight until after I've given my approval. Do we have a deal?" Xena asked holding out her hand.

"Yes we have a deal." Jason answered with a smile, grasping Xena's forearm in a warrior's handshake.

"Now we have to find you a sword as well." Gabrielle said.

"Actually, I may have an answer for that." Cyrene spoke up before leaving the room and coming back a few candle drops later with an long ornate box, "A stranger stayed in the inn a few months ago and on top of their payment gave me this and said there would be a traveler coming through who would have need of this and that I would know whom to give it to." She continued handing the box to Jason.

The young man released the latches and opened the lid revealing a curved sword with a black cloth-wrapped handle in a plain black sheath. "Wow! How in this era do you get a katana outside Japan? And such a nice one too."

Jason's comment drew Xena's attention from the box's contents, "You know about the katana?" She asked.

"Yes, in the time I come from the samurai and their antithesis, the ninja are considered to arguably the greatest warriors in history and the katana is considered the greatest sword ever made. Many would argue that the Spartans or the Romans were greater, but their strength is in the phalanx. One on one there is no question the samurai is better. I'd personally take the samurai over any army. Now the problem is I have no one to teach me the forms of the katana."

"Do you already forget that I have many skills?" Xena asked with a smile.

"I think I smell a story there." Gabrielle said with a smile of her own.

A few days later the trio set off for Potidaea laden with supplies from Cyrene. Jason had begun training with Xena using boken, which were solid wood katanas meant for training and practicing. Jason already had several bruises from their first couple training sessions, but he knew he would eventually get better and maybe even beat Xena one day. He and Gabrielle walked along while Xena rode on Argo, "So, Jason. Are you ready to tell us yet just why Ares brought you here?"

"Well I guess I can tell you. You remember when Xena was…judged…by the Furies unjustly?" Gabrielle nodded, "Well I was supposed to be used in a part of that plan, I don't know why only I could do it, but he dragged me from my time just to try and get Xena back at his side. The thing is, and I mean no offense to Xena and her many skills and her strength of will, but if Artemis and Aphrodite hadn't intervened and stopped me from completing my part of Ares plan, then he probably would have succeeded."

"Why were you helping Ares in the first place?"

"At first I fought against what he wanted, but it was very difficult. I'm guessing he had me in some sort of spell. When he realized how hard I was fighting it he told me that he would send me back to the world I knew if I helped him here first lucky the Goddess of Love and the Goddess of the Hunt were able to break me out of whatever spell I was under."

"Why didn't we see you then?" Xena asked.

"Aphrodite took me to see Mount Olympus to meet with Zeus while Artemis made sure everything was set right with you. Zeus was very upset with what Ares had done, especially when he found out about me, a man out of time, so to speak. The gods tried to find a way to send me back, but I already told you what they discovered. They didn't want to mess with the balance of things too much, so they sent me to find you guys, figuring I would be safest with you and that I could help you in your journeys."

"This is going to make an interesting story for my scrolls!" Gabrielle exclaimed and started writing as they walked toward Potidaea.


End file.
